A German court yesterday (5 April) refused Spain’s request to extradite Catalan ex-leader Carles Puigdemont on a rebellion charge following his arrest in Germany last month, ordering his release on bail pending a hearing on a lesser charge.

It reiterated that reasoning in its ruling Thursday, and said Puigdemont would remain free pending extradition proceedings.

“The alleged actions by the former Catalan government leader do not amount to the German crime of high treason nor the charge of breach of the public peace,” the court said.

“The amount of violence required for the charge of high treason was not seen in the altercations in Spain. Breach of the public peace does not apply because Carles Puigdemont was only involved in carrying out the (independence) referendum.”

‘Fight to the end’

The court noted that European legal practice stipulates that the receiving country — in this case Spain — can try the accused only on the charges approved in the extradition order.

This means Spain could not continue legal proceedings against Puigdemont on rebellion charges after his return from Germany.

Puigdemont hailed the German ruling as a victory.

“The German justice system says that the October 1 referendum was not a rebellion,” he said in a tweet.

“Every minute spent in prison by our comrades is a minute of shame and injustice. We will fight until the end and win!”

The court, however, gave the green light for prosecution on misuse of public funds related to the cost of staging the Catalan referendum.

And it rejected Puigdemont’s argument that he was at risk of political persecution in Spain.

“It is far-fetched accusation against the Spanish state as a member of the European Union’s community of values and common judicial area,” it said.

“The court has unconditional faith that Spanish judicial authorities will respect the requirements of national and international law.”

Easing tensions

German prosecutors said in a separate statement that they would decide whether to approve the transfer of Puigdemont to Spain in the coming days. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office described this step as now largely a formality.

With his legal woes preventing him from being re-appointed president of Catalonia, Puigdemont in May anointed a handpicked successor, helping the region to come closer to ending the crisis.

Spain’s new government meanwhile has taken its own steps to defuse the conflict.

On Wednesday, the last three separatist leaders held near Madrid over their role in Catalonia’s secession bid were transferred to a prison in the region.

Last week, six other leaders had already been transferred ahead of a crunch meeting between Catalonia’s separatist president Quim Torra and Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Both pledged to ease tensions despite lingering differences over the region’s right to self-determination.

Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia who organised the illegal independence referendum in October 2017, nominated on Thursday (10 May) a pro-independence politician as his successor at the head of Spain’s rebellious region.

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